Being Ola is a heartfelt and inspirational, but above all deeply human, documentary. It gently takes us by the hand into a world unknown to many, yet profoundly beautiful and powerful. The film tells the story of Ola Henningsen, a 30-year-old man who lives in the small Norwegian village of Vidaråsen, where its 150 residents form a community of people with and without disabilities.
A community rooted in a slower rhythm of life, living in close harmony with nature and guided by values of empathy, respect and interdependence. Ola, who has an intellectual disability, spends his days in the village workshop, harvesting carrots from the earth and sharing long conversations with his best friend, Lasse, who also lives there. Their warm and easy friendship is one of the great joys of Ola’s daily life. Yet beneath this tranquility lingers a quiet uncertainty: the possibility that Lasse might grow tired of his job or decide to return to Denmark.
We witness all of this through the truthful lens of Ragnhild Nøst Bergem, who beautifully and respectfully captures the lives of this community, illuminating a subject that may seem distant at first, yet in reality is deeply close to all of our hearts.
I had the wonderful opportunity to speak with Ragnhild and Ola, and it was a candid and sincere conversation; very much like the film itself, and like Ola, who radiated warmth, joy, and an infectious energy throughout.
Ragnhild is known for her intimate and empathetic documentaries. My first question was about how she discovered Ola and the community, and why she felt compelled to share his story:
“This project started eight years ago, when I was a film student making a short documentary about the village. You can find this kind of community all around the world. In Norway, we have six of them, living a completely different lifestyle. I was fascinated by it, so I returned two years later to film again. I’m also a cinematographer, so I essentially just needed myself and my camera. I asked the people there if I could join their everyday lives and document them. Ola was one of the people I filmed the first time, so I began filming with him again during my second visit. Eight years later, it turned into a documentary about Ola. I didn’t know that would happen but that’s how documentaries work. You never know where you’ll end up”, the director replies.
“And how do you feel about the fact that this is your life, and that the film honors it?” I asked Ola.
“It still feels a bit surreal that I was the one she chose to follow. I believe there are many other stories in the village, and in society, that needed to be told long before mine. But I hope this can help others tell their stories in a way that isn’t sugar-coated, but real.”
“And did you enjoy the process of being filmed?”
“Not at the beginning,” he laughs. “At first, I wondered if she wanted me to play a character, or if she wanted me to tell Ola’s story as someone else. But then I understood that the idea was for Ola to tell the story as Ola. At one point during filming, I tried to be somebody else, more like a showman or a comedian. But eventually, I realized I was starting to act like a ‘new’ version of myself.”
“What were the challenges of making the film?” is my next question to Ragnhild.
“As this project took eight years from beginning to end, I accumulated a lot of material, so the editing process was a major challenge. Securing funding for this kind of project is also difficult, there were many closed doors along the way. But I’m glad I kept working on it. Now, it obviously feels worth it, but it was definitely hard work. We also organized numerous screenings and events to bring the film to audiences. It wasn’t easy, but we made it.”
“And how did you both feel when watching the documentary for the first time? What did it mean to you?”
Ola responds: “To be honest, it took me some time to realize that it was actually me speaking on screen. I didn’t know I had all of that inside me. When I watched the film, I saw a familiar face, but I couldn’t quite connect with it at first. It wasn’t really my cup of tea,” he laughs. “Maybe when I grow older, I’ll be able to take part in deeper conversations, not just talk about myself from within my own bubble.”
For Ragnhild, the film is about taking chances and reflecting on life, and about reflecting on herself, on what it means to simply be who she is. Anyone, she believes, can recognize a part of themselves in the story. Each person can take something from it and relate it to their own life. The goal, ultimately, is to show that we are far more alike than we often think.
Ola mentioned wanting to be part of deeper conversations. I told him that I think he already is participating in them through the film, as he speaks about independence. I asked him what independence and being independent mean to him.
“Independence, to me, means that I can grow and develop at my own pace, within the environment I’m in. It also means supporting others to develop themselves along the way, rather than focusing solely on what I can do to become the best version of myself.”
My final question was about what they learned from each other during the process. The director begins by mentioning a scene in the film where Ola plays the piano in front of 150 people. He stumbled the first time, but he got up and tried again and succeeded. She says, “It was being in the perfect place at the perfect time as a director, and it made me reflect on myself. We are all going to fail at some point, but we need to get back up and try again.”
For Ola, the lesson was different: “To listen to other people’s stories, and not just think about what I’m going to say next, but really listen. Make sure you don’t get too caught up in yourself.”
This beautiful film is part of this year’s catalogue of the Oska Film Festival, a festival dedicated to films made by or featuring people with learning disabilities or autism. Both Ola and Ragnhild will travel to the UK to present it.
“I’m an ordinary guy — just a little extraordinary,” Ola says in the film. Personally, I believe he is quite extraordinary, just like this film.
